21
GENERAL GUIDE LINES
Since microwave cooking to some extent is different from traditional
cooking, the following general guidelines should be considered
whenever you use your microwave oven
If the food is undercooked
Check if:
• You have selected the correct power level.
• The selected time is sufficient-the times given in the recipes are
approximate. They depend on initial temperature, weight and
density of the food etc.
• The container is appropriate.
If the food is overcooked,i.e. dried out or burnt
Before you cook again, consider whether:
• The power level was too high.
• The set time was too long-the times in the recipes are approximate.
They depend on initial temperature, weight and density of the food
etc.
Points to remember when defrosting
• The shape of the package alters the defrosting time. Shallow
rectangular packets defrost more quickly than a deep block.
Separate pieces as they begin to defrost; free flow slices defrost
more easily.
• Shield areas of food with small pieces of foil if they start to become
warm.
• When defrosting, it is better to under thaw the food slightly and
allow the process to finish during the standing time.
The amount of food
The more food you want to prepare the longer it takes. A rule of
thumb is that double amount of food requires almost double the time.
If one potato takes four minutes to cook, approximately seven
minutes are required to cook two potatoes.
Starting temperature of food
The lower the temperature of the food which is being put into the
microwave oven, the longer time it takes. Food at room temperature
will be reheated more quickly than food at refrigerator temperature.
Composition of the food
Food with a lot of fat and sugar will be heated faster than food
containing a lot of water. fat and sugar will also reach a higher
temperature than water in the cooking process.
The more dense the food, the longer it takes to heat. “Very dense”
food like meat takes longer time to reheat than lighter, more porous
food like sponge cakes.
Size and shape
Smaller pieces of food will cook more quickly than larger pieces and
uniform pieces of food cook more evenly than irregularly shaped
foods.
With unevenly shaped food, the thinner parts will cook faster than the
thicker areas. Place the thinner chicken wings and legs to the centre
of the dish.
Stirring, turning of foods
Stirring and turning of foods are techniques used in conventional as
well as in microwave cooking to distribute the heat quickly to the
centre of the dish and avoid over-cooking at the outer edges of the
food.
Covering food helps:
• To reduce spattering
• To shorten cooking times
• To retain food moisture
All covering, which will allow microwaves to pass through are
suitable-See above “Which utensils can be used in the oven?”
Releasing pressure in foods
Several foods are tightly covered by a skin or membrane.
These foods should be pricked with a fork or cocktail stick to release
the pressure and to prevent bursting, as steam builds up within them
during cooking. This applies to potatoes, chicken livers, sausages,
egg yolks and some fruits.
Standing time
Always allow the food to stand for some time after using the oven.
standing time after defrosting, cooking/reheating always improves
the result since the temperature will then be evenly distributed
through out the food.
In a microwave oven foods continue to cook even when the
microwave energy is turned off. They are no longer cooking by
microwaves, but they are still being cooked by the conduction of the
high residual heat to the centre of the food.
The length of standing time depends on the volume and density of
the food. Sometimes it can be as short as the time it takes you to
remove the food from the oven and take it to the serving table.
However, with larger, denser foods, the standiing time may be as
long as 10 minutes. During ‘standing’, the internal temperature of the
food will rise by as much as 8˚C and the food will finish cooking in
this time.
Arranging food
This is done in several ways in microwave cooking to give more
even cooking results.
If you are cooking several items of the same food
such as jacket potatoes, place them in a ring
pattern for uniform cooking. When cooking foods
of uneven shapes or thickness, place the smaller
or thinner area of the food towards the centre of the
dish where it will be heated last.
Uneven foods such as fish should be arranged in the oven
with the tails to the centre.
If you are saving a meal in the refrigerator or
‘plating’ a meal for reheating, arrange the thicker,
denser foods to the outside of the
plate and the thinner or less dense foods
in the middle.
Place thin slices of meat on top of each
other or interlace them. Thicker slices such as
meat loaf and sausages have to be placed close
to each other. Gravy or sauce should be reheated in
a separate container.
Choose a tall, narrow container rather than a low
and wide container. When reheating gravy, sauce or
soup, do not fill the container more than 2/3.
When you cook or reheat whole fish, score the
skin this prevents cracking.
Shield the tail and head with small pieces of foil
to prevent over-cooking but ensure the foil does
not touch the sides of the oven.
